Tyson
MCGUFFIN
When Yakima , Washington , tennis pro Tyson McGuffin first came to pickleball , he came as a tennis player . Now that he has more than a few gold medals for singles playing under his belt , McGuffin has come to realize that the real challenge in pickleball is in doubles play , where gold has been elusive for many with a tennis mindset .
“ I think a lot of tennis players can relate to the transition I had ,” McGuffin said . “ Singles was an easy transition for me . My tennis background is to play fast . I have a crafty , slice and dice game , and for pickleball , that was a good transition .”
But , when he started playing , that speed and samurai style of play seemed out of place during his first matches at his local YMCA on a gym floor with a judge ball , surrounded by 60-plus senior players .
“ I kind of thought pickleball was a little goofy when I first started out ,” he said . “ I had no idea there were tournaments , or younger guys for that matter , in this sport . And then , when it came to doubles , I was a 5.5 tennis player coming in and losing to 4.5 pickleball players in their 60s . Playing doubles was definitely the toughest transition for me .”
Slowing down an aggressive player who ’ s coming from the world of tennis is more of a mental stretch than anything , one that many players never overcome . McGuffin came face-to-face with that reality and had a decision to make : wrap his head around the doubles game or remain in singles . He chose the former , but it wasn ’ t easy .
“ I had to slow my game way down , play boring pickleball , concentrate on all the dinking , which is hard when you want to play aggressive ,” he said . “ But I decided to plow through , get my feet wet , figure things out , figure out the softness of doubles and how slow the game is and get used to it .”
PLAYER PROFILE
Doubling Down on the Court
Finding a partner to help him meet these goals was also an essential part of the equation .
McGuffin said that ’ s when a gentleman named Chris Miller stepped in and matched him up with his current partner , Matt Goebel , another tennis player out of Spokane who shared much of the same style McGuffin possesses .
“ Trying to find a partner is so difficult , especially for a newbie coming in . Chris put us in contact and we had a lot in common : he was new , I was new ; he played super aggressive , I played the same way . We had the same game style , so it ’ s been meshing and getting better ever since . We played Chris Miller all last year and he kicked our butts , and this year it ’ s been back and forth and pretty even . And we ’ ve learned a lot — you ’ ll get good advice from the competition . I ’ m actually loving doubles now because I kind of know how to play .”
Together , McGuffin and Goebel are making names for themselves in the Pacific Northwest as one of the top doubles teams in the region , and one of the top 10 teams in the country . They ’ re competing in all of the larger national tournaments and placing in the top five wherever they go , and just being a match away from bronze on several occasions , like the US Open .
“ Our doubles games have gotten tremendously better ,” McGuffin said . “ We ’ ve gone from super aggressive to drilling a lot and understanding how to dink . With all the drilling , we ’ re headed in the right direction . We ’ re probably still a little too quick to be aggressive against the better teams , so we need to discipline ourselves to dial it back and wait a little more . But overall , we ’ ve done really well .”
And , as a Selkirk-sponsored tennis pro , McGuffin was quick to add that the new style of play he ’ s learned from pickleball has translated well for him back on the regular tennis court , dispelling the myth that pickleball ruins your tennis game .
“ I feel like my hands in tennis have definitely sped up with how fast the ball ’ s moving in pickleball . It definitely improves hand reactions , and speed ,” he said . “ Once in awhile , I ’ ll fling a little too much on tennis volleys now , but that ’ s easy to correct . The hand speed , mobility at the net , being quick overall , and being on my toes have all gotten better thanks to pickleball . If you ’ re playing balanced tennis and pickleball , it can only add to your game .” •
MAY / JUNE 2017 | MAGAZINE 51